Cap structure for bottles



J1me '1954 J. E. UNDERWOOD CAP STRUCTURE FOR BOTTLES 2 Sheets-Sheet lFiled May 28, 1951 J1me 1954 J, E. UNDERWOOD 31 CAP STRUCTURE FORBOTTLES Filed May 28 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 8, 1954 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE 2,680,531 CAP STRUCTURE FOR BOTTLES James EllisUnderwood, Phoenixville, Pa., as-

signor to The West Company, Phoenixville, Pa., a corporation ofPennsylvania Application May 28, 1951, Serial No. 228,721 3 Claims. (Cl.215-38) tents ar to be sealed against contamination and parts after theyhave been brought together but are to be accessible by insertion of aneedle prior to the crimping securement;

through the cap structure. Such cap structures 5 Fig. 6 is a similarview showing the completed essentially comprise a resilient sealingmember n structure er r mp r m n f h usually formed of rub oe and a capusually parts;

formed of metal which is secured to the bottle Fig. 7 is a sectionalview showing the cap strucand which has a tear-01f portion to expose antllre pp to a t Said e so being area of the sealing member and thusenable in- 10 taken diametrically through the cap r r and characterabove-mentioned have involved a cap structure;

number of objections and disadvantages. The Fig. 11 is a fragmentaryperspective view of the separate parts have necessarily been handled 15ner retaining member; a

separately and have been brought together in an 12 s n a ged ta y p p veassembled structure only at the time Of applicaview of the assemb ed andapplied cap structure tion to bottles. This has involved considerableRefeirmg first to Figs 1 to 7 0f the d aW n which are more fragileindividually than when tion essentially comprises a relatively deepcircucomponent parts It h l o i l consmformed of rubber or othersuitable material and erable time and labor cost due to the necessity of5 having a depth substantially less than the depth handling the separateparts. of cap IE3, and a retaining member l2 generally A furtherdisadvantage is present in prior cap the form f a ring and h ving aninturned ture to a bottle has frequently caused a downto enable crimpingsecurement as hereinafter deforce but tends to expand under such force,there element Serving as a facing for e g-m mis a, tendency for the discto'cup downward into her the neck of the bottle, and this provides asmall After manufacture f the above-mentioned recess or catch basin fordirt or dust, making it component part the parts are brought togetherdifiicult for the physician or surgeon to avoid conas Wn in g- 5- Thesealing member I I seatstamination of the needle used to extract thecon- Wi hin th upper part of the cap l0, and assumtents of the bottle.40 ing that the facing element I5 is employed, this One object of thepresent invention is to elimielement is placed within the cap l0 againstthe nate the above-mentioned objections-of prior cap sealing member I i.The retaining member [2 structures. is nested within the lower part ofcap l0. With Another object of the invention is to provide a the lowerpart of the retaining member [2 formed simple cap structure which may bemanufacas shown, the lower edge of cap [0 rests upon the tured andautomatically assembled prior to usage flange Mas shown in Fig. 5.

and which effects economies by virtue of its be After the parts havebeen brought together in ing capable of assembly as a unit which may beassembled relation as shown in Fig 5 the flange handled shipped andstored and which may be I 4 1s curled or crimped about the lower edge ofeasily applied as a single unit to a bottle or other container at anytime. Thus a pharmaceutical manufacturer can autoclave, rumble orothercap [I], The firm frictional engagement between wise sterilize andhandle the assembled cap structhe curled or crimped flange l4 and thelower ture without fear that the component parts will part of cap l0serves to hold the parts securely becom disassembled. in assembledrelation.

Other objects and features of the invention As clearly shown in tdrawing t cap is will be appar nt fr m the f l wi d ta l d deprovidedwith a tear-oil portion l6, and this pordrawing wherein U. S. Patent No.2,425,269 issued March 22, 1949 Figs. 1 to 4 are perspective views ofthe component elements or parts of one embodiment of signee of thepresent application.

the invention, the parts shown in Figs. 1 and 4 As clearly shown inFigs. 5 and 6, the circular being broken away and sectioned for thepurpose sealing member I I preferably has a diameter lessofjllustration, than the internal diameter of the can In but greaterthan the inner diameter oi the inturned flange l3 on the retainingmember i2. Whether or not the facing element is employed, the flange 13serves to retain the sealing member 5 i within the upper part of cap l0.

After completion of the assembled cap structure as shown in Fig. 6, thesame may be handled, shipped, stored and subjected to any desiredsterilizing treatment, without fear of the parts becoming disassemled.As previously pointed cap structures of this general type or character.

Whenever it is desired to apply the cap structure to a bottle, as shownin Fig. 7, the assembled cap structure is placed over the head ll of theusual bottle it, and the lower portions of parts iii and i2 are crimpedinwardly by rolling beneath the head i! and against the bottle neck. Ofcourse it will be understood that the parts are dimensioned to enablesuch attachment to the bottle. in applying the cap structure to thebottle, downward pressure is exerted to effect a tight seal, and due tothis pressure the resilient sealing member it flows or expandsoutwardly, and this is permitted without causing any distortion of saidmember by reason of the space made available for outward expansion ofmember it due to the fact that its diameter is less than the internaldiameter of the cap Hi. Therefore there is no tendency for the sealingmember 1 l to cup downward as previously mentioned.

When it is desired to use the contents of the sealed bottle it it ismerely necessary to remove the tear-cit portion it) of the cap it andthen insert a needle through the exposed portion of sea-ling member Hand through the racing element l5, assuming that the latter is used.Since there is no cupping of the sealing member ii, there is no recessor catch basin wherein dirt or dust might accumulate.

In Figs. 8 to 12, there is shown a modified form of the cap structurewhich differs from the first described iorm in certain respects. in thisinstance, as shown in Fig. 8, the relative depths of out, this is a veryimportant advantage over prior the outer cap lila and the innerretaining inernber 1241 are such that the lower portion of cap 10a isadapted to be curled or crimped inwardly about the lower edge portion ofthe member 12a, as shown in Fig. 9. It will be seen that this is areversal of the crimping arrangement employed in the first-describedembodiment.

The embodiment shown in Figs. 8 to 12 also includes a feature which maybe employed in any embodiment of the invention. The inturned flange 13aof the retaining member 12a has an upwardly turned edge it which isdirected toward the sealing mem er lid and the facing disc 15a, assumingthat the latter is employed. With this feature incorporated in the capstructure, it is preferable to employ a bottle or container lea havingan inclined sealing surface as shown at 20.

Figs. 10 and 12 show the cap structure after application to a bottle ladunder pressure as previously described. It will be noted that theupturned edge it performs a biting action, and where the facing disc 55ais employed as shown, the edge bites into this element and stretches itacross the mouth of the bottle. This is due to the fact that during thepressure application of the cap structure to the bottle, the retainingmember l2a is deformed where it engages the top of the bottle, and theedge it is caused to exert outward radial forces on the disc I541.

While certain embodiments of the invention have been illustrated anddescribed, it is to be understood that the invention is not limitedthereto, as it will be obvious that various modifications are possible.For example, the sealing member H may take forms other than that shown,such as a stopper, and may be formed of materials other than rubber,such as cork. The other parts of the structure may also be varied as toform and composition.

1 claim:

1. A cap structure for pharmaceutical bottles, comprising a relativelydeep outer cap, a resilient sealing member seated within said cap, and aretaining member nested within said cap and having an inturned flange atits top to retain said sealing member, said flange having a turnedbiting edge directed toward said sealing member, said cap and saidretaining member being secured together by crimping securement of theirlower edges, said retaining member and said cap being adapted to fitover the top of a bottle and to be crimped inwardly to secure the entirecap structure permanently to the bottle.

2. A cap structure for pharmaceutical bottles, comprising a relativelydeep circular outer cap, a circular resilient sealing member seatedwithin the upper part of said cap, said sealing member having a depthsubstantially less "han the depth or" said cap, and a retaining membernested within the lower part of said cap and having an inturned iiangeat its top to retain said sealing member, said iiange having a turnedbiting edge directed toward said sealing member, said cap and retainingmember being secured to gether' by crimping securement of their loweredges, said retaining member and the lower part of said cap beingadapted to fit over the top of a bottle and to be criniped inwardly tosecure the entire cap structure permanently to the bottle.

3. A cap structure for pharmaceutical bottles, comprising a relativelydeep circular outer cap, a circular resilient sealing member seatedwithin the upper part of said cap and having a diameter less than theinternal diameter of said cap, said sealing member having a depthsubstantially less than the depth of said cap, and a retaining membernested within the lower part of said cap and having an inturned flangeat its top to retain said sealing member, said flange having a turnedbiting edge directed toward said sealing mem her, said cap and saidretaining member being secured together by crimping securernent of theirlower edges, said retaining member and the lower part of said cap beingadapted to fit over the top of a bottle and to be crimped inwardly tosecure the entire cap structure permanently to the bottle, said sealingmember expanding radially when subjected to compressive force duringapplication of the cap structure to a bottle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNETED STATES PATENTS Dec.22, 1941

